Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879 Part 21

Hydrophobia among dogs is very rare, and distemper among puppies is unknown. Pigs are the general scavengers in the Cypriote villages, and the flesh of these filthy feeders is much esteemed by the Christian inhabitants during the winter months. In the monasteries, which, from their great alt.i.tude among the mountains, are occasionally snowed up and excluded from communication, a winter supply of stores is laid up during the autumn. The pigs and the fattest goats are killed, and salted in a most peculiar manner. Without removing a bone, the animal is split from the neck along the abdomen throughout, and it is laid completely open like a smoked haddock. Every joint is most carefully dislocated, even to the shoulder-blade bones, and remains in its place. The flesh is neatly detached from every bone, and in this form the carcase is salted, and stretched out in the sun to dry. When prepared it resembles a s.h.i.+eld, as it remains perfectly flat, the back presenting a smooth surface, while the inside represents a beautiful specimen of comparative anatomy, every joint dislocated, but secured by the original integument to the socket, and every bone cleanly detached, but undisturbed from its original position. The dried body looks like a surgical preparation carefully arranged for an explanatory lecture.

The common and low quality of food of the lower cla.s.ses, and especially of the agricultural population, must induce a want of stamina which is unable to resist the fever in malarious districts, and this results in chronic disease of the spleen. I have already described the general protuberance of the abdomen among the children throughout the Messaria and the Carpas districts, all of whom are more or less affected by splenetic diseases. On the mountains a marked difference is observed, as throughout the numerous villages at high alt.i.tudes the children are as healthy as those of England, although poorly clad in the home-made cotton-stuffs of the country.

I have already remarked the absence of flannel or other woollen material worn next the skin; the natives prefer their own manufactures to those of Europe, and as they grow the cotton, which is spun and woven into cloth by their own women, there is no actual outlay of coin. Some of the native material is very superior in strength to the machine-made stuffs of Manchester, especially a blue stout cotton with a thin red line that is in general request both for men and women. The only woollen stuff that is manufactured in Cyprus is confined to Nicosia, where the dark brown and immensely thick capotes are made for the winter wear of the common people. A cart-driver during the halt in a winter night simply draws the hood over his head and face, and, wrapped in his long and impervious capote, he lays himself beneath his cart and goes to sleep.

Coa.r.s.e woollen saddle-cloths and bags are also made at Nicosia. The same locality is celebrated for manufactures of silk and gold embroidery, all of which is performed by the hands of women, while the printing of calicoes and the production of morocco leather are local industries confined to the labour of men.

No country is better adapted for silk culture than Cyprus, where the mulberry-tree grows in great luxuriance to the alt.i.tude of 5000 feet, and the warmth and dryness of the climate is highly favourable to the silkworm. There is no tax upon the mulberry, and should artificial irrigation be encouraged by the government, this tree should be generally planted throughout the Messaria and all other districts, and a special impulse should be directed to silk development. Formerly the production of silk was an important export to France, but of late years it has decreased to a mere bagatelle. In the spot where I am now writing there are numerous mulberries in a profusion of rich foliage sufficient for the production of two pounds of silk by each tree; but they are entirely neglected, and the same depression in the silk cultivation may be remarked throughout the island.

The numerous wild-flowers, together with the blossoms of oranges and lemons, are highly favourable to bees, of which there are several varieties; but there is no export of wax, which is used within the island for the manufacture of candles and tapers for the various churches. The Cyprian bee-hive is a contrivance which is extremely simple, at the same time that it possesses the great advantage of sparing the bees when the comb is to be saved. I see no reason why this primitive arrangement should not succeed in England, and thereby save countless swarms from destruction.

The hive is an earthenware cylinder about three feet six inches or four feet in length, by ten or twelve inches in diameter; this might be represented by a common chimney-pot. One end is securely stopped by a wad of straw, neatly made in a similar manner to the back of an archery target. This is smeared on the outside with clay so as to exclude the air. A similar wad is inserted at the other extremity, but this is provided with a small aperture or entrance for the bees. In a large apiary twenty or thirty of these rude pipes or cylinders are piled one upon the other in the same manner that draining tiles are heaped in England, and they are protected from the sun and rain by a shed, open only to the front. The bees learn to recognise their several hives without confusion, although the cylinders are exactly alike and closely packed together.

When the comb is fully developed and the honey should be secured, it is only necessary to open a hole in the back, by removing the wad, and to blow smoke through the aperture; the bees escape uninjured from their ordinary entrance. The operator, whose head and face are protected with the necessary veil, and his hands with gloves, now cuts out the honey required, leaving a certain quant.i.ty as food for the bees, who will return to their hive when re-adjusted.

When a swarm is captured, the bees are placed in an earthenware cylinder which has been rubbed in the inside with a mixture of honey and wine.

The shed is a very important portion of the apiary, as it adds materially to the comfort of the bees by protecting them from the extremes of weather.

Although the cold of the winter seldom attains freezing-point, it is sufficiently uncomfortable when accompanied by rain, and all creatures that are expected to thrive require protection. The climate varies in different localities, but the following meteorological data, that were carefully registered by myself, accompanied by those kindly furnished me by Colonel White, 1st Royal Scots, when chief commissioner of Lefkosia, will afford a dependable basis for any medical opinion.

Thermometer in degrees F.

Months. Inches Mean Mean Max. Min.

Rainfall 8 AM 3 PM

February, in the plain of Messaria . . 0.80 46 57 68 37

March, in the Carpas district and ditto 1.71 49 60 68 45

April, in the Kyrenia district, the maximum at Morphu . . . . . . . . . . nil. 57 68 83 47

At 7 AM May, in Limasol to 11th inst do. . . . ditto. 64 78 84 76

do. Trooditissa, 4,340 ft. to 31st from 12th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.30 56.5 62 73 42

June, Trooditissa . . . . . . . . . . 1.13 66 71.6 78 54

July, do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.13 77.6 78 84 65

The fall of 1.13 inch of rain in June took place in one hour and a half, and none of the rain which fell at the mountain range extended to the low country. It will be seen that from 1st February to the end of May only 2.51 inches fell throughout the central and eastern divisions, and very little that was measured in the Carpas district reached the Messaria. There was a fall of about 1.70 inch in January at Larnaca which I had no opportunity of measuring, but inclusive of this quant.i.ty the total rainfall from 1st January to the end of summer would not have exceeded 4.21 inches in the lower country.

The month of July is shown to be the highest temperature at Trooditissa, but although the maximum of 84 and the mean at 3 P.M. of 78 degrees may appear high at the elevation of 4340 feet above the sea level, the extreme lightness and purity of the air so far modified the heat that it was never oppressive. The thermometer was suspended five feet from the ground against the trunk of the shady walnut-tree four feet from the tent wall, into which spot the sun never entered.

The water that issued from the rock by a stone spout beneath the arch showed a temperature of 55 degrees and never varied throughout the months of June, July, and August. When the thermometer was above 80 degrees this water fresh from the spout appeared icy cold in comparison.

Colonel White's observations at Lefkosia (Nicosia) for the month of July exhibit an extremely high range, the mean at 9 A.M. = 84.5 Fahr.

degrees, and the mean at 9 P.M. = 83 degrees Fahr.; while the daily maximum attains the serious degree of a mean = 108.7 degrees Fahr., the highest point registered being 115 degrees Fahr. in the shade.

Such a temperature will destroy the health of Europeans, and the locality is not suitable for headquarters. The governor of the island might possibly escape to the mountain sanatorium, but the other officials will sicken in their various overheated offices.

The following is Colonel White's original register:-

METEOROLOGICAL REGISTER AT NICOSIA.

442 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

Instruments:--Casella's maximum, minimum, and ordinary thermometers; Negretti and Zambra's large-size aneroid barometer ; 29 feet above ground, all under deep verandah, shaded from the sun, exposed to coolest wind, and 5 feet above the roof of the house. The readings taken carefully.

H. G. WHITE, Lieut.-Colonel Royal Scots, Commissioner, Nicosia.

4th August, 1879

CHAPTER XIX

POLITICAL REFLECTIONS.

In the foregoing chapters I have endeavoured to describe the present condition of Cyprus, exhibiting the actual resources of the island, together with the numerous disadvantages resulting from a peculiarity of climate, and the total neglect of all public works during the Ottoman rule of three centuries. It will be remarked that nothing of value exists beyond the agricultural productions, which are now precarious through the uncertainty of seasons; the metallic wealth has either been exhausted by the ancient miners, or it remains to be developed; the forests have been destroyed; the harbours have been clogged by silt; the communications are confined to pack animals in the general absence of roads and bridges. Yet, notwithstanding this neglected condition of the island, the revenue has yielded an average of about 200,000 pounds annually, or as nearly as possible one pound sterling per head of the entire population.

An increase of revenue can only result from a corresponding advance in material prosperity, which must depend upon an influx of capital that will develop the agricultural resources upon which Cyprus will mainly depend. There are some few collateral profits that may perhaps increase, such as the sponge fisheries, and a probable discovery of red coral by the employment of the helmet-diving apparatus. At present the condition of the sea-bottom is little known; the sponges, of an inferior-quality, are collected by dredging, and the boats pay a fixed sum for a licence according to the size and construction of the dredging apparatus, varying from 5 to 20 pounds per annum; this yields a small annual revenue of about 1600 pounds, which embraces the entire coast of Cyprus.

By careful management the salt might exhibit an increase, but on the other hand, the wine, if relieved from the present extreme taxation, would for the first two or three years ensure a considerable reduction.

No increase of imports can be expected until the general advance of internal prosperity shall enable the population to extend their demand for foreign manufactures. We have seen that the peasantry are contented with the home-made cotton stuffs which they produce without an expenditure of money; and the habits of the agricultural cla.s.ses are simple, and independent of external aid. It will require many years before the customs of the Cypriotes shall be changed by the intercourse with strangers, and the increase of their wealth, commencing from the zero of poverty, must be the base of future expectations. We generally remark in the advancing desires of communities that women exert a powerful influence in the development of manufactures. The wholesome, and to a certain extent civilising, attention to personal appearance, creates a demand for articles of dress and other little vanities which encourage trade, and by degrees the improvement in every household expands into a new birth of external relations with foreign countries, which induces an increase of imports. The women of Cyprus are completely subjugated to their husbands, and although exempt from the cruelty unfortunately so prevalent among a similar cla.s.s in England, they are seldom indulged in the love of finery which in our own country is carried to an excess. The baggy trousers and the high hob-nailed boots of the Cyprian Venus will hardly excite the ambition of British manufacturers, and for many years the females will remain in their present position. There are already soap manufactories in the island, and the first groundwork for improvements in personal habits will be ensured by their extension, before the exterior fineries of more civilised communities shall be introduced. We may therefore omit the Cyprian female from the cla.s.s that would benefit the island commercially, but she will perform her duty in a sensible and simple manner as a good housewife, and thereby a.s.sist in the prosperity of her husband the agriculturist. The more pains that we may bestow upon an examination of the resources of Cyprus, the more certain becomes the conclusion that the present and the future depend entirely upon agricultural development.

This fact is patent to all who can pretend to a knowledge of the island, and the question will naturally intrude, "Was Cyprus occupied for agricultural purposes?" Of course we know it was not: but on the other hand, if we acknowledge the truth, "that it was accepted as a strategical military point," it is highly desirable that the country should be self-supporting, instead of, like Malta and Gibraltar, mainly dependent upon external supplies.

If Cyprus belonged to England or any other Power, it would be a valuable acquisition. We have seen that under the Turkish administration it was a small mine of wealth, and remains in the same position to its recent masters.

We pay 96,000 pounds sterling per annum to the Turks, out of an a.s.sumed revenue of 170,000 pounds. Therefore, without any trouble or risk, the Turk is receiving 3.25 per cent. interest upon three millions. This establishes an unfortunate precedent in the valuation of the island should England eventually become a purchaser.

If Cyprus can, without undue taxation, afford a revenue of 170,000 pounds, it is palpable that a large margin would be available for those absolutely necessary public works--irrigation, the control of the Pedias river, road-making, harbour-works, bridges, extension of forests and guardians, and a host of minor improvements, such as district schools for the teaching of English, &c. &c. In fact, if we held Cyprus without purchase as a conquered country, such as Ceylon, Mauritius, or other of our colonies, it would occupy the extraordinary position of a colony that could advance and pay its way entirely by its own surplus revenue, without a public loan! This is a fact of great importance--that, in spite of the usual Turkish mal-administration, the island has no debt, but that England has acknowledged the success of the Turkish rule by paying 96,000 pounds per annum as the accepted surplus revenue of this misgoverned island!--which holds upon these data a better financial condition than any of our own colonies.

If the total gross revenue is 170,000 pounds a year, and we can afford to pay 96,000 pounds to the Porte, and at the same time allow the home government to boast in the House of Commons of "a surplus," Cyprus is one of the most lucrative positions, and the Turks can fairly claim a success instead of admitting the blame of mal-administration.

If the Turks by mismanagement can obtain a nett revenue of 96,000 pounds a year, how much should England obtain by good management?

The fact is that, as usual, the English government has been hoodwinked in their hasty bargain. The island can pay its way, and, if free from Turkey, would become most prosperous; but we have inherited an estate so heavily mortgaged by our foolish Convention, that the revenue is all absorbed in interest, which leaves nothing for the necessities of development. The commissioners of districts are over-worked and ill-paid, their allowance of interpreters is quite insufficient to secure the necessary check; and their position is incompatible with the importance of their official status. There is no money for any improvements, and the boasted surplus will just suffice for the payment of salaries and the absolutely necessary items of carrying on a government more in accordance with the position of Greece or Denmark than with the historical reputation of Great Britain.

This financial embarra.s.sment has disappointed the expectations of the inhabitants, who naturally had antic.i.p.ated brilliant advantages from the reform between Turkish and English administrations. My own opinion may be valueless, but it is shared by many; Cyprus should belong absolutely to England, or we should have nothing to do with it. I repeat the dictum expressed in the introduction; if England is the ally of Turkey and she can depend upon the integrity of that defensive alliance against Russia, there is no need for any station that incurs the obligations of Cyprus; all the Turkish ports would be open to our s.h.i.+ps. The occupation of Cyprus would therefore suggest that a far-seeing government had doubted the integrity of Turkey, and had therefore determined to secure a pied-a-terre in a strategical position that would command the east of the Mediterranean. Upon this point opinions will again differ, and I quote the words of one of the most experienced statesmen and an ex-minister of the Upper House, who writes:--

"The objections to Cyprus as a military and naval station are shortly these. It will oblige us to establish a garrison, and therefore to increase and divide our forces in the Mediterranean. There must be barracks, hospitals, store-houses, &c. After all this expenditure Cyprus will weaken rather than strengthen our power.

"Famagousta may be made a good harbour; but how can it be defended? The s.h.i.+ps will not be, as in Malta, defended by batteries projecting far beyond the anchorage; Famagousta will require s.h.i.+ps of war to defend it, or batteries constructed on the breakwater--a most costly undertaking.

As a coaling-station it is not wanted, because colliers accompanying the fleet are much more convenient. If, in short, we are supreme at sea, Cyprus is not wanted; if we are not supreme, Cyprus will be an inc.u.mbrance."

I acknowledge the force of a portion of the argument, and no one can more highly respect the distinguished authority I have quoted, who, as an ex-First Lord of the Admiralty of practical experience, must carry the great weight of his ability and position; but I would suggest that Famagousta is underrated. I have already described that powerful fortress, and in its present condition, if mounted with forty-ton guns upon the sea-face, I doubt the possibility of an attack from seaward.

The natural reefs which form the sea-wall afford the greatest facilities for batteries a-fleur-d'eau, as their solid foundations require the simple levelling of cement, and a facing of steel plates would complete an impregnable line of casemates that would render the approach by sea impossible.

The advantages of attendant colliers is great as a continuous coal-supply to a fleet, especially during the blockade of an enemy's port; but for a cruising fleet, or for independent vessels, the speed of the colliers would be insufficient, and a line of coaling-stations, at intervals of five days' steaming is in my opinion highly important, in addition to the necessity of docks where ironclad vessels could obtain the necessary repairs after a naval engagement. It is a serious result of modern improvements that the c.u.mbrous and complicated ironclads cannot be repaired in a few days after an action with the enemy by their own carpenters and crews, like the wooden vessels of old, but that docks must be within reach, and all the appliances of the engineers' yards and an a.r.s.enal. Without this advantage, Famagousta would be a useless acquisition, and Cyprus would be worthless as a strategical position.